Welcome to Equestria, the world of the My Little Ponies. Equestria is ruled jointly by the sisters Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and is populated by intelligent, talking animals, but ponies play the dominant role. The weather is controlled by the winged pegasus ponies, the unicorn ponies do magic and the earth ponies do various other jobs about the country. The capital of the country is Canterlot, but this story starts in a town on the other side of Equestria from the capital; a town named Trottingham. Here, just like in other pony towns, there is a thriving population of ponies. There are shops, a farm, a school and various entertainment industries. The ponies are content. There is an occasional visit from the ruling ponies, when everypony turns out to welcome them and celebrate, but apart from that there are various festivals and celebrations to attend. Trottingham School is attended by every filly and colt, and is where the ponies learn about various things, such as the history of Equestria as well as more practical things like reading and arithmatic. Each foal is different; some are eager to learn while others get bored with having to stay in school instead of being outside in the sun and enjoying themselves.

This was true for a small group of ponies one day in Trottingham. The pegasus ponies were working on clearing the sky of clouds, and it was a bright and beautiful blue. The sun shone down on the green grass, and it proved too tempting a prospect for this group. Faced with double maths, the group played truant from Trottingham School and stole off together away from the town, where their parents might catch them and know that they were supposed to be in school. The group eventually settled down just outside the Everfree Forest. The Everfree Forest is a mysterious place outside Ponyville. Unlike most of Equestria, the forest does not need the ponies' attention to function naturally, plants grow and the weather changes without their involvement, and animals care for themselves. It is home to many strange creatures, including ursas and parasprites and other hazards, such as the plant poison joke. The forest is also the location of the ancient castle where the Elements of Harmony are located. Princess Luna and Princess Celestia once resided there, but the castle is now deserted. Nopony ventures far into the mysterious forest; there are many frightening things that lurk in the shadows of the trees, and nopony has ever explored the whole of the forest.

As a result, the pony town at the very centre of the forest is unknown to everypony in Equestria. Named Sunny Town, the ponies who lived within its confines never ventured beyond its borders and as a result were unaware that there were other ponies living outside the forest. The ponies of Sunny Town differed from the ponies of Equestria in many ways. They were as a general rule fairly unadventurous, easygoing to a point, and also extremely superstitious. The main difference however was that the Sunny Town ponies had no cutie marks, and never had had them. This was to lead to the downfall of the Sunny Town ponies, and to the curse that was laid upon the town forever dooming it to permanent shadow. Once, Sunny Town was a place of harmony and pleasure. The ponies regularly celebrated the turn of the seasons with a party laid on for the whole town. Some ponies sampled the tempting food laid out on trestle tables, others watched the shows put on by other ponies to entertain the crowds. Still others just wandered around, enjoying the fresh air and the carnival atmosphere. It was a town of peace and plenty, where nothing could go wrong, or spoil things. Or so they thought.

Roneo, a yellow earth pony with a blue mane and tail, was unhappy. He had been out in the fields of Sunny Town the previous day and had happened upon a beautiful jewel which glowed like the setting sun. He had immediately thought to give it to his sweetheart, a pony named Starlet, but he had lost it. Miserable, he wandered about the town searching for the jewel. Ruby, a bright and inquisitive young filly, noticed something glinting in the undergrowth as she danced along the path. Curious, she nosed about in the long grass, and the jewel rolled out. She happily trotted back to Sunny Town, and gave the jewel to Roneo, who was delighted. However, something happened; a small magnifying glass appeared on Ruby's flank. The other ponies were horrified; to them, this strange mark appearing on the young filly's flank signified to them witchcraft! The fear spread among all the ponies and they rushed the young filly. Ruby screamed for help, but before her mother Mitta could save her, Ruby had been carried off by the townsponies. They declared the terrified filly to be a witch and burned her alive, leaving her body in the fireplace. Then, darkness fell, altho it was only the middle of the day. The ponies of Sunny Town had been cursed as a result of their actions, and their town, now renamed Blanktown, was doomed to be a place of darkness from which nopony could ever escape, and where any pony who entered would find hard to leave...